Siemens Gamesa seals first wind farm project in Ethiopia

Engineering company Siemens Gamesa will deliver 29 SG 3.4-132 wind turbines to State-owned utility Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) for the Assela project − a 100 MW wind farm that will help power over 400 000 Ethiopian households. The wind farm is set to be commissioned by spring 2023 and is slated to save more than 260 000 t of CO2/y of emissions.
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Commission recommends approval of Stanlib Fund II’s buyout of SCDA 3

The Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the proposed transaction whereby Stanlib Fund II intends to acquire Solar Capital De Aar 3 (SCDA 3), without conditions. Stanlib Fund II is involved in the provision of financial services and SCDA 3 is a solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power producer (IPP) in the Northern Cape.
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Commission recommends approval of Engie’s buyout of Xina CSP

The Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the proposed transaction whereby Engie intends to acquire Xina Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Xina CSP Operations & Maintenance (O&M), without conditions. In South Africa, the Engie Group supplies a mix of renewable energies. Its energy projects in South Africa include the Aurora Wind Power Project.
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120 MW Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility connected to the grid

The 120 MW Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility, in the Eastern Cape, is the latest wind farm to be connected to South Africa’s national grid.  “We are pleased to announce the successful commissioning of all 48 wind turbine generators as the year draws to an end and we prepare to have our portfolio in operations in the next quarter,” says BioTherm Energy CEO Robert Skjodt.
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Eskom’s bailout emerging as equity swap by biggest bondholder

South Africa’s biggest pot of available cash – R1.91-trillion of civil-servant pensions and unemployment funds managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) – is emerging as the key to rescuing the debt-stricken national power monopoly. The money manager has approached its parent agency, the National Treasury, with a proposal to ease the R464-billion load of obligations crushing Eskom, signaling officials are gearing up for the complex financial and political operation to convert about R95-billion of Eskom debt held by the PIC into equity.
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Pan African appoints juwi South Africa as EPC contractor for R140m Evander solar PV plant

Gold miner Pan African Resources has entered into an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with juwi South Africa to build a 9.975 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at its Evander Mines. Construction on the R140-million solar PV plant will start in the first quarter of 2021, with first power expected in the third quarter.
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EIUG notes concern about Eskom’s operational, financial performance

The Electricity Intensive Users Group of Southern Africa (EIUG) says it remains concerned about the operational and financial performance of power utility Eskom. This comes as Eskom on Monday reported an interim profit of R83-million, but warned of a full-year loss of R22.1-billion.
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Govt, IPPs a step closer to lowering electricity tariffs

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has managed to complete its first refinancing agreement with an independent power producer (IPP), which is part of an initiative to lower electricity tariffs. The department issued a statement on Monday in which it announced that it had concluded a refinancing agreement with the ACWA Power’s Solafrica Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) power plant. It is part of a refinancing initiative launched by the department in October 2019. All IPPs (64 projects) of the bid windows 1 to 3.5 were invited to participate in the initiative, with the aim to reduce the wholesale price of electricity.
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Eskom outlines streamlined restructuring model to deliver independent grid company by end-2021

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter outlined a streamlined approach on Monday to the vertical separation of the State-owned utility into three businesses of generation, distribution and transmission, which he said could accelerate the process of establishing an Eskom-owned independent transmission system and market operator (ITSMO) without the threat of any debt default. Speaking at the release of the group’s interim results to the end of September, De Ruyter again emphasised the importance of creating the ITSMO to support much-needed generation investment by independent power producers (IPPs) and indicated that the target date for the creation of a separate transmission entity remained December 2021.
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Global electricity demand to fall 2% this year, says IEA

Global electricity demand is projected to fall by about 2% this year – the biggest yearly decline since the mid-twentieth century and far larger than what followed the global financial crisis in 2008/9, which resulted in a drop in electricity demand of 0.6% in 2009, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports. In its inaugural ‘Electricity Market Report’, published on December 14, the IEA states that the contraction in demand this year is a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on economic activity.
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